The contrast is almost symbolic. The Friday of Sorrows left an image of stability in much of the country, with clear skies and mild temperatures that anticipated a quiet start to Holy Week.
But Saturday and, above all, Sunday break that calm.
In a matter of hours, the weather takes a turn that brings winter back to a good part of the northern peninsula. It is not an intense storm, but a combination of factors: a weak front first and the subsequent entry of cold air that activates the true change.
A country divided in two
The meteorological photograph of the weekend is clear: two climatic Spains.
On one hand, the north, where the rains, snow, and wind are concentrated. On the other, the rest of the country, where stability holds, although with nuances.
These types of situations are common in spring, but the drop in the snow level and the intensity of the wind make a difference compared to other recent episodes.
In areas of the Cantabrian, Pyrenees and north of the Iberian system, the atmosphere returns to being fully wintry, while in the south and east a milder sensation is still maintained.
The snow returns in March: what it really means
The drop in the snow level to 400 or 700 meters on Sunday is not a minor detail.
It assumes that snow may appear in areas where it had already said goodbye, and it does so right at the start of one of the periods of greatest mobility of the year. This has an impact not only meteorologically, but also on traffic, displacements, and travel planning.
It is, in a way, one of those situations that well summarize the unpredictable character of spring in Spain.
The wind and the sea, the other silent protagonists
Beyond the snow, there is another element that goes more unnoticed but that has a strong impact: the wind.
Very strong gusts in the northeast, Balearic Islands, Galicia or the Ebro surroundings turn the weekend into an uncomfortable episode, even in areas where it does not rain.
The state of the sea also complicates, especially in the Mediterranean and the Cantabrian, with important warnings for swell that affect several communities.
What this change tells us about spring
This type of sudden shifts are not an anomaly, but part of the logic of spring.
It is a transition season, unstable by nature, where cold air masses can still burst in with force while the heat begins to gain ground.
The result is this type of scenarios: almost summer days followed by fully winter episodes in a matter of hours.
A Holy Week watching the sky
Starting Monday, the weather tends to stabilize, but with nuances.
The north will continue with some instability, while the rest of the country recovers calm. However, the evolution is not completely closed, and the possibility of new precipitation in the east or in the Balearic Islands remains on the table.